Abstract:
The data set consist of rocks samples, stratigraphic columns, and paleocurrent data.
This project studies fossils from two to three hundred million year old rocks in the Allan Hills area of Antarctica. Similar deposits from lower latitudes have been used to develop a model of Permo-Triassic climate, wherein melting of continental glaciers in the early Permian leads to the ... establishment of forests in a cold, wet climate. Conditions became warmer and dryer by the early Triassic, inhibiting plant growth until a moistening climate in the late Triassic allowed plant to flourish once again. This project will test and refine this model and investigate the general effects of climate change on landscapes and ecosystems using the unique exposures and well-preserved fossil and sediment records in the Allan Hills area. The area will be searched for fossil forests, vertebrate tracks and burrows, arthropod trackways, and subaqueously produced biogenic structures, which have been found in other areas of Antarctica. Finds will be integrated with previous paleobiologic studies to reconstruct and interpret ecosystems and their changes. Structures and rock types documenting the end phases of continental glaciation and other major episodic sedimentations will also be described and interpreted. This project contributes to understanding the: (1) evolution of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and how they were affected by the end-Permian extinction, (2) abundance and diversity of terrestrial and aquatic arthropods at high latitudes, (3) paleogeographic distribution and evolution of vertebrates and invertebrates as recorded by trace and body fossils; and (3) response of landscapes to changes in climate.
In terms of broader impacts, this project will provide an outstanding introduction to field research for graduate and undergraduate students, and generate related opportunities for several undergraduates. It will also stimulate exchange of ideas among research and primarily undergraduate institutions. Novel outreach activities are also planned to convey Earth history to the general public, including a short film on the research process and products, and paintings by a professional scientific illustrator of Permo-Traissic landscapes and ecosystems.
Description:
NSF Award Abstract #0440919 for Collaborative Research: Reconstructing the High Latitude Permian-Triassic: Life, Landscapes, and Climate Recorded in the Allan Hills, South Victoria Land, Antarctica.
Dept. of Geosciences
Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
PO Box 413
City:
Milwaukee
Province or State:
WI
Postal Code:
53201
Country:
USA
Publications/References
Henry, L. C., Fraiser, M. L., Limarino, C.O., and Isbell, J. L., in review, Panthalassan margin volcanism: a driver of late Paleozoic deglaciation and extinction?:Journal of South American Earth Sciences (Submitted 8-09).
Briggs, D.E.G., Miller, M.F., Isbell, J. L., and Sidor, C.A., accepted, Permo-Triassic arthropod trace fossils from the Beardmore Glacier area , central ... Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica: Antarctic Science.
Isbell, J.L., accepted . Environmental and paleogeographic implications of glaciotectonic deformation and glacial basinal deposits within Permian strata of the Metschel Tillite, Southern Victoria Land, Antarctica, In Lopez-Gamundi, O. and Buatois L., eds, Late Paleozoic glacial events and postglacial transgressions in Gondwana: GSA Special Paper (submitted 1-06).
Miller, M.F. and Isbell, J.L., accepted, Reconstruction of a high-latitude, post- glacial lake: Mackellar Formation (Permian), Transantarctic Mountains, In Lopez-Gamundi, O. and Buatois L., eds, Late Paleozoic glacial events and postglacial transgressions in Gondwana: GSA Special Paper (submitted 3-06).
Caputo, M.V., de Melo, J.H.G., Streel, M., and IsbeLL, J.L., 2008, Late Devonian and Early Carboniferous glacial records of South America, in Fielding, C.R., Frank, T.D., and Isbell, J.L., eds., Resolving the Late Paleozoic Ice Age in Time and Space: Boulder, CO, Geological Society of America Special Paper 441., p. 161-173.
Fielding, C.R., Frank, T.D., and Isbell, J.L. (Editors), 2008, Resolving the Late Paleozoic Ice Age in Time and Space: Boulder, CO, Geological Society of America Special Paper 441, 354 p.
Fielding, C.R., Frank, T.D., and Isbell, J.L., 2008, The late Paleozoic ice age--A review of current understanding and synthesis of global climate patterns, in Fielding, C.R., Frank, T.D., and Isbell, J.L., eds., Resolving the Late Paleozoic Ice Age in Time and Space: Boulder, CO, Geological Society of America Special Paper 441., p. 343-354.
Henry, L.C., Isbell, J.L., and Limarino, C.O., 2008, Carboniferous glacigenicdeposits of the proto-Precordillera of west-central Argentina, in Fielding, C.R., Frank, T.D., and Isbell, J.L., eds., Resolving the Late Paleozoic Ice Age in Time and Space: Boulder, CO, Geological Society of America Special Paper 441, p. 131-142.
Isbell, J.L., Cole, D.I., and Catuneanu, O., 2008, Carboniferous-Permian glaciation in the main Karoo Basin, South Africa: stratigraphy, depositional controls, and glacial dynamics, in Fielding, C.R., Frank, T.D., and Isbell, J.L., eds., Resolving the Late Paleozoic Ice Age in Time and Space: Boulder, CO, Geological Society of America Special Paper 441, p. 71-82.
Isbell, J.L., Fraiser, M.L., and Henry, L.C., 2008, Examining the Complexity of Environmental Change during the Late Paleozoic and Early Mesozoic: PALAIOS, v. 23, p. 267-269.
Isbell, J.L., Koch, Z.J., Szablewski, G.M., and Lenaker, P.A., 2008, Permian glacigenic deposits in the Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica, in Fielding, C.R., Frank, T.D., and Isbell, J.L., eds., Resolving the Late Paleozoic Ice Age in Time and Space: Boulder, CO, Geological Society of America Special Paper 441, p. 59-70.
Sidor, C.A., Miller, M.F., and Isbell, J. L., 2008, Tetrapod burrows from the Triassic of Antarctica: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, v. 28, p. 277-284.
Montañez, I.P., Tabor, N.J., Niemeier, D., DiMichele, W.A., Frank, T.D., Fielding, C.R., Isbell, J.L., Birgenheier, L.P., and Rygel, M.C. 2007. CO2-forced climate and vegetation instability during Late Paleozoic deglaciation: Science 315: 87-91.
Fielding, C.R., Frank, T.D., and Isbell, J.L., 2006. Meetings: The late Paleozoic Ice Age Revisited: Eos 87(21): 87- 91.
